India is Much More
Blogging hasn't appealed much t me in the past. Whenever I've tried it earlier, it hasn't kept me interested for long. I believe the reasons are personal. I haven't been able involve into posting mundane details of life over the net. To just keep posting links to other blogs/web-sites has also not been my style of writing. Add to it little or no interest shown by bloggers to sites with real original content. Blogging was boring.
Recently, I came across several friends posting real content along with personal experiences and their success in getting the message across served as a confidence booster to return. And, yet, I decided to keep clear of Politics, Movies, Books etc.; Not because I don't have opinions on these subjects, but that there are way too many blogs dedicated to them. So I decided to concentrate more on the Technical (Computer Programming) side with my new 'Decoded' Wordpress blog.
A India travelogue blog posted by a Westerner has jolted me out of hibernation, as also the fact that I was lead there by a major Indian vortex (portal) in the Indian blogosphere. It brought out two hardfacts. The West hasn't gotten over the colonial hangover of White people visiting exotic countries carrying the 'White man's burden', of civilizing barbaric natives, in their hearts.
They are yet to understand (the reality) that a good part of the Net is inhabited by people of races, ethnicities, cultures and religions, other than their own. And that, they could feel offended by insensitive observations and mocking of their culture and religious practices.
As I commented there - "people find what they look for", and by another blogger "please post about historical monuments", I've begun to feel that lot of outsiders come to India to see Poverty, Dirt, Cows and Beggars! Just like the elite natives "Slumming out" in the Irish-dominated Hell's kitchen area in Martin Scorsese's 'Gangs of New York'. This appears to be of greater interest than Food, Handicraft Shops, Shopping and visiting historical monuments. And understanding INDIA, as usual, is the bottom-most priority. More the local culture can be ridiculed, the merrier. Greater the "shock value" [ in the face poverty, every body appeared poor, emaciated Cows roaming the streets] greater the number of hits (to the blog).
A tourist normally visits another country to look at it's Historical monuments and places. If I were visit, say, London my interest would be in visiting Buckingham palace, museums, Madame Tussads' and other such interesting places. If it were NY, it might be Empire State building, Times Square, Liberty Island etc. Visiting ghettos in Bronx would hardly be on my list of priorities! If I were to find beggars soliciting in London's tube system, it would be a minor factoid in my travelogue, and not consume 60-70% of my post.; as that wouldn't be at the top most priority in my discovery of London or New York. Considering the coverage Poverty, Cows and Beggars receives in most Westerners blogs, it shouldn't be surprising if some of us felt 'Visiting Poverty' IS infact the main interest in these visits.
Given the stark reality, isn't it time our Ministry of Tourism started (officially) 'Visit Poverty' advertising campaign. Now that we are officially advertising it, imagine the countless White-less folks , with no beggars in their countries, no smog in their streets, no homeless folks sleeping over benches in their parks, no poor people living in trailer-parks, no kids going hungry in their country etc., flocking to India in droves to witness and experience the extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Wouldn't our coffers be over flowing with dollars? [ Of course, I am kidding and being sarcastic]
I can understand to certain extent the behavior of the Westerners, given the long history of colonization and Western dominance of World economy and Political affairs, treating other cultures and nations has become a naturally ingrained mentality in the deepest subconscious. So much so that some even refuse to believe it exists in them. (We never find fault in us, do we?)
But what's more appalling in the boot-licking-native mentality among Indians which refuses to die, even 50+ years after our Independence. We still need to collect those brownie points from our White masters to feel good about ourselves. The coverage our media provides to Aishwarya Rai even when she keeps starring in English movies that keep bombing in the Box Office, or of our B-grade starlets displaying their cleavage at Cannes. So it comes as no surprise ,that we, Indians, provide Free publicity and coverage to all such travelogues, even when they paint a partial, biased and a bad picture of our country. As long as it comes from White skin, any sh*t feels good for some of us.
I have found it a waste of time to make such know-all westerners understand the subtleties and deeper inner meanings of Indian through discussions and educating. It's also an exercise in futility to try and develop a sense of self-respect in (some) Indian zombies who have lost all vestiges of it. But I do feel the need, in light of these misinforming/misleading Blogs, that there is a need to educate the neutral audience - other communities/cultures and Westerners genuinely interested in understanding the reality (I am sure there are some) - about the 'Real India'
My next post 'Not just Cows. Beggars, Dirt and Bad Roads' will attempt to answer the question marks raised by these travelogues.
Recently, I came across several friends posting real content along with personal experiences and their success in getting the message across served as a confidence booster to return. And, yet, I decided to keep clear of Politics, Movies, Books etc.; Not because I don't have opinions on these subjects, but that there are way too many blogs dedicated to them. So I decided to concentrate more on the Technical (Computer Programming) side with my new 'Decoded' Wordpress blog.
A India travelogue blog posted by a Westerner has jolted me out of hibernation, as also the fact that I was lead there by a major Indian vortex (portal) in the Indian blogosphere. It brought out two hardfacts. The West hasn't gotten over the colonial hangover of White people visiting exotic countries carrying the 'White man's burden', of civilizing barbaric natives, in their hearts.
They are yet to understand (the reality) that a good part of the Net is inhabited by people of races, ethnicities, cultures and religions, other than their own. And that, they could feel offended by insensitive observations and mocking of their culture and religious practices.
As I commented there - "people find what they look for", and by another blogger "please post about historical monuments", I've begun to feel that lot of outsiders come to India to see Poverty, Dirt, Cows and Beggars! Just like the elite natives "Slumming out" in the Irish-dominated Hell's kitchen area in Martin Scorsese's 'Gangs of New York'. This appears to be of greater interest than Food, Handicraft Shops, Shopping and visiting historical monuments. And understanding INDIA, as usual, is the bottom-most priority. More the local culture can be ridiculed, the merrier. Greater the "shock value" [ in the face poverty, every body appeared poor, emaciated Cows roaming the streets] greater the number of hits (to the blog).
A tourist normally visits another country to look at it's Historical monuments and places. If I were visit, say, London my interest would be in visiting Buckingham palace, museums, Madame Tussads' and other such interesting places. If it were NY, it might be Empire State building, Times Square, Liberty Island etc. Visiting ghettos in Bronx would hardly be on my list of priorities! If I were to find beggars soliciting in London's tube system, it would be a minor factoid in my travelogue, and not consume 60-70% of my post.; as that wouldn't be at the top most priority in my discovery of London or New York. Considering the coverage Poverty, Cows and Beggars receives in most Westerners blogs, it shouldn't be surprising if some of us felt 'Visiting Poverty' IS infact the main interest in these visits.
Given the stark reality, isn't it time our Ministry of Tourism started (officially) 'Visit Poverty' advertising campaign. Now that we are officially advertising it, imagine the countless White-less folks , with no beggars in their countries, no smog in their streets, no homeless folks sleeping over benches in their parks, no poor people living in trailer-parks, no kids going hungry in their country etc., flocking to India in droves to witness and experience the extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Wouldn't our coffers be over flowing with dollars? [ Of course, I am kidding and being sarcastic]
I can understand to certain extent the behavior of the Westerners, given the long history of colonization and Western dominance of World economy and Political affairs, treating other cultures and nations has become a naturally ingrained mentality in the deepest subconscious. So much so that some even refuse to believe it exists in them. (We never find fault in us, do we?)
But what's more appalling in the boot-licking-native mentality among Indians which refuses to die, even 50+ years after our Independence. We still need to collect those brownie points from our White masters to feel good about ourselves. The coverage our media provides to Aishwarya Rai even when she keeps starring in English movies that keep bombing in the Box Office, or of our B-grade starlets displaying their cleavage at Cannes. So it comes as no surprise ,that we, Indians, provide Free publicity and coverage to all such travelogues, even when they paint a partial, biased and a bad picture of our country. As long as it comes from White skin, any sh*t feels good for some of us.
I have found it a waste of time to make such know-all westerners understand the subtleties and deeper inner meanings of Indian through discussions and educating. It's also an exercise in futility to try and develop a sense of self-respect in (some) Indian zombies who have lost all vestiges of it. But I do feel the need, in light of these misinforming/misleading Blogs, that there is a need to educate the neutral audience - other communities/cultures and Westerners genuinely interested in understanding the reality (I am sure there are some) - about the 'Real India'
My next post 'Not just Cows. Beggars, Dirt and Bad Roads' will attempt to answer the question marks raised by these travelogues.
posted by Vivek at 10:43 AM
2 Comments:
To my meritocrat friends who don't understand the difference between equality and equity and the subjectivity of such concepts like merit
How sad! Despite the Brahmin Baniya press’s attempts to ignite the upper caste 15% readership they have not reached beyond the Vindhyas and yet they say that the nationwide protests get shriller! Again the same logical folly of adding motive to facts. If the gullible constituency of upper caste North Indian medicos and their mislead brothers and sisters from Mumbai who tested the fruit for antidemocratic agitations fearing their superspeciality seats getting shrunk hence their chances of migrating to North American subcontinent and other EU countries becoming distant are resorting to the same Gobelian tact of saying lies 100 times through a media hell-bent upon protecting it’s caste-class interest .
How sad! I request the upper caste students who want to ignore caste and take all it’s benefits to really fight for eradicating caste system. Reservations are symptoms not the cause of their perceived and imaginary fallouts. Fight for land reforms create employment opportunities for the underprivileged sections stop atrocities against these vulnerable sections does away with Brahminical thought system of inbuilt discrimination in all walks of life. In short stop the Manuwadi practice of eating the cake and craving to have it without paying for the same.
Please be sporting and come out openly with your caste labels inherited from your parents and say that we are for a meritocracy of upper castes which we enjoyed in the guise of chaturverna which even after independence we enjoy it because of our preeminence in all walks of life don’t want to be shared by the Bahujanas.
So it is the so called agitating students for equality have been tripped again on a very serious issue .It is said that “those who forget history are condemned to repeat it” Don’t forget of Mandal 1, If you are bound to scrounge through the gutters of history reserved for such antidemoctic agitations, you will then never be able to come out through the memory lanes of history.
If you have time to spare from all this do visit a very enlightening site- www.meritmyfoot,blogspot.com
Yours friendly,
Ayushyman Kamble
Hey Vivek,
Please take a look at my blog
srsarangi.blogspot.com and take a look at the article:
Zoo to Safari: Changing face of western racism
s
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